EEG402 Teaching in a Global World Assessment 2: Teaching ATSI Children by Madison Dunn

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Conclusion

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While teaching Indigenous students can be a difficult task as you face issues such as attendance, behaviour and student health and well being, it is also one of the most important and rewarding things you can do as a teacher. As discussed in this presentation it is important to incorporate Indigenous perspectives in your class, even in an urban context, as bringing Indigenous cultures into our schools will enrich all members of the communities understanding of Australia and our history and will take further steps towards reconciliation.

Introduction

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The topic teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was chosen for this presentation as I completed a 3-week placement as part of the Global Education Program in a remote school in the Northern Territory in October 2016. I have always had a passion for Indigenous Education and since completing my placement in Kalkarindji it has only increased my urge to want to make a difference in educational outcomes for students in these communities. This topic correlates with many other issues discussed throughout the second module in the unit such as intercultural understanding, cross-linguistic understanding, diversity and culture.

Why it's important

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Across Australia there are still major concerns about the numeracy and literacy skills of Indigenous Australians as many are at least two years below mainstream students by the time they reach Year 3 (Warren & DeVries 2009). Indigenous students are also below non-Indigenous students in areas such as attendance and retention. For example in 2015 the total attendance in the Northern Territory for Indigenous students sat at 67.4% compared to 89.9% for non-Indigenous students (Northern Territory Government 2016). Along with addressing the gap in educational outcomes, it is also important to learn how to teach Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with Indigenous perspectives as ATSI students can be found in classrooms in Victoria which many teachers do not take in to account. In 2004 there was only a percentage of 0.7% of Aboriginal teachers across Australia (Northern Territory Government 2016). As there is such a low percentage of Indigenous teachers in Australia it is vital that all teachers learn how to teach Indigenous perspectives in the classroom.

Teaching Cross Linguistically

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As many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are coming from a language background of two or even three different spoken languages, it is important to learn how to integrate language content. The integration of language for EAL learners is crucial for active participation in the classroom. EAL learners require authentic context for curriculum content and integrating their home language ensures the students classroom time is spent as usefully as possible (Gibbons 2002, p. 119-120). One way that is shown to assist classroom learning for Indigenous students is scaffolding, where context is built from students prior knowledge and base concepts and students learn to read and write through practical activities (Harrison 2011, p. 17). It is important to take in to consideration the diversity in the classroom and understand that students can have quite divergent ways of making meaning.

Intercultural Understanding

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In addition to language integration there is a great opportunity to incorporate Indigenous culture in the classroom. This can be done through bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the classroom. It is often difficult for teachers of ATSI students to engage and relate to their students and for ATSI students to relate to their teachers. When ATSI students can see themselves, their cultures, histories and communities reflected on the walls and in the hallways of their school it makes a difference as students learn best when they feel safe and supported (Shipp 2013, p. 24).

Teaching with Indigenous perspectives

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In the urban school context it is important for teachers not to shy away from including Indigenous perspectives in the classroom just because they think that there are no ‘real Aboriginal’ students in their class (Shipp 2013, p. 24). Improving relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians can only be achieved through reconciliation via education and exposure to one another’s perspectives (Shipp 2013, p. 24). This in turn will address the imbalance in the educational system and bring something of Indigenous cultures into our schools, which will enrich all students’ understanding of Australia and our history (Shipp 2013, p. 24)

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Teaching Strategy 1:Culturally Responsive Teaching

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Culturally responsive teaching makes regular use of the culture, life experiences and knowledge of students to make concepts meaningful to the students and make connections with other curricular content (What Works 2012, p. 59). Through this strategy teachers use culture to bridge learning and lessen the mismatch between home and school environments. It is imperative that teachers take in to account Indigenous perspectives, knowledge and worldviews. A collaborative approach to culturally responsive teaching, undertaken in partnership with the local Aboriginal community and local schools, is the most effective means of ensuring positive outcomes are achieved (ACER 2016). Indigenous students have significantly lower levels of confidence in their abilities to handle tasks effectively than their peers. If the educational experiences stimulate student interest and the students have an active voice in the learning process this will increase engagement, motivation and confidence in the classroom (What Works 2012, p. 59). It is shown that curriculum and pedagogy that embeds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural perspectives will also aid attendance and retention rates (What Works 2012, p. 60).

Resource 1

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http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/525907/

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Resource 2

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"Shake a leg"

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Teaching Strategy 2: Active, hands-on, collaborative learning environments:

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Teaching in a play-based context in combination with focused teaching and learning allows for students to engage with quite formal and complex mathematical and literacy concepts in a non-threatening environment (Warren & DeVries 2009, p. 172). It is also shown that Indigenous students take preference for working in a group environment as often they learn from each other as much as they learn from the teacher (Harrison 2011, p. 25). Indigenous students are also more likely to take risks when working in a group setting because there is perceived safety in numbers. Students should also be given the opportunity to move around the classroom to explore rather than being made to stay in their chairs for long periods of time (Harrison 2011, p. 25).

While taking full days on placement at Kalkaringi School I found myself constantly challenged and rewarded. As I found my students responded only to active and hands-on learning activities, I was always planning for fun and engaging while rich with content activities to teach with. Two of my most successful lessons for my grade 2/3 students (who were working at a grade 1 level) was my lesson for teaching doubles with painting (resource 1) and teaching fractions with flash cards/memory games (resource 2). I also loved seeing my students engage positively with each other when working in small groups, often with the stronger students helping their classmates with lower ability.

Resource 1

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Teaching doubles with butterfly symmetry activity

Resource 2

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Teaching fractions with flashcards/memory games

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References

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All images taken by Madison Dunn (2016) with permission granted by school and community.

ACER 2016, Meeting the needs of Indigenous students, ACER, retrieved 20 January 2017, .

Gibbons P 2002, Learning language, learning through language, and learning about language: developing an integrated curriculum, Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom, Heinemann, Portsmouth, pp. 118-30, retrieved 18 January 2017, < https://deakin.rl.talis.com/items/61D6249B-AC08-C478-5034-01C7BB988E0F.html?referrer=%2Flists%2F6DF96424-AB82-BA3D-BE76-ED1198A6B96E.html%3Fembed%3Dtrue%23item-61D6249B-AC08-C478-5034-01C7BB988E0F>.

Harrison, N 2011, Teaching and learning in Aboriginal Education, 2nd edn, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

Northern Territory Government 2016, Enrolment and Attendance, Northern Territory Government Department of Education, retrieved 17 January 2017, .

Shipp, C 2013, ‘Bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the classroom: Why and how’, Literacy learning: the Middle years, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 24-28, retrieved 17 January 2017 .

Warren, E & DeVries, E 2009, Young Australian Indigenous students’ engagement with numeracy: Actions that assist to bridge the gap, Australian Journal of Education, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 159-175, retrieved 17 January 2017, Education Source, .

What Works 2012, What works. The Work program, Improving outcomes for indigenous students, National Curriculum Services, retrieved 17 January 2017, .

Feedback

annie_boseley — 2017-01-28 02:56:45 UTC

Hi Madison,
Your Padlet presentation was very insightful and I enjoyed reading about your GEP experience in the Northern Territory. The photos of your time with the children add a personal touch to your padlet and are evidence of how to involve and engage Indigenous students in their learning. Your 'Active, hands-on, collaborative learning' teaching strategy gives useful ideas on how to teach effectively to Aboriginal students. I particularly benefited from your personal examples of strategies used in the classroom while on GEP.

To further support the points you are discussing in your padlet, I would be interested in learning about resources teachers can access for support. It would be useful to include information about how teachers can be trained to teach Aboriginal students and where they can access further support materials.

A very useful and interesting padlet,
Annie Boseley